Gun case in Powell's apartment admitted as evidence in his murder trial

A gun case has been admitted as evidence in the murder trial of a 42-year-old Jersey City man charged with killing his neighbor three years ago.

Patrick O. Powell, 42, of Gardner Avenue, has been charged in the May 15, 2011 shooting death of Robert Flagler, 69, who lived in the same multifamily building as Powell.

Powell's mother, father and brother attended his trial today, sitting on Powell's side of the courtroom, while Flagler's wife, 3 adult daughters and adult niece sat on the other side of the courtroom.

Homicide detectives found the gun case in Powell's bedroom shortly after Flagler was shot to death.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor David Sharpe argued that the gun case "clearly shows that there is a gun or implement for a gun in the apartment of the defendant."

Powell's defense attorney, Mark Bailey, maintained that no link has been established between the gun found at the crime scene and Powell, and that bringing the gun case into the trial would be prejudicial and "inflame the jury."

Though she earlier forbade Sharpe from admitting the gun case as evidence, Judge Lisa Rose sided with him after re-considering its relevance to the trial.

Today's cross-examinations of police detectives were dominated by questions from Sharpe, who spent a large portion of the afternoon asking Sgt. Michael Crowe of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office about the evidence from the crime scene, which Crowe had been assigned to document.

Crowe testified that he found a cell phone slid open with its battery cover missing in the hallway on the fourth floor of the multifamily building, near where Flagler was shot to death.

Crowe added that the battery cover -- which had blood stains on it -- was found in Powell's apartment, lying on the ground behind an open closet door.

Other evidence presented to the jury today included: the gun used to shoot Flagler, the live ammunition found inside the gun and photographs of the crime scene (such as the LG cell phone and a spent shell casing found in the 4th floor hallway and the gun found on the ground in Flagler's apartment).